Wellstar is set to build a\u00a0new hospital in Cobb County, Georgia, that will \u201caddress the growing need for hospital beds in Acworth and the surrounding areas.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement to Newsweek, Wellstar said it has been notified that the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) approved its application to build the new Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center at Acworth.<\/p>\n
Why It Matters\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wellstar said the project would expand access to care across the county, which has a population of more than 766,000, according to the 2020 Census.\u00a0Cobb County is the third largest in Georgia and is situated in the Atlanta metro area, with Acworth less than an hour’s drive from the state capital. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The opening of a new hospital would continue Wellstar’s more than $1 billion in charity and uncompensated care annually, more than any health system in Georgia, according to Wellstar.<\/p>\n
What To Know\u00a0<\/p>\n
The health system said that several competing health systems filed objections to Wellstar\u2019s application related to this project. <\/p>\n
“However, none of those health systems have the commitment and existing operational abilities to meet the current and future medical needs of residents in Cobb, Paulding, Cherokee and Bartow counties and the future need for improved access to hospital services for the Acworth community,” Wellstar told Newsweek. <\/p>\n
Wellstar announced that it filed a Letter of Intent with the department in May 2025 to build a new 230-bed hospital in Acworth. It then filed a detailed Certificate of Need (CON) application around June 23, 2025, that included both architectural rendering and the ways the hospital will address community needs. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWellstar is improving access to care, and this new hospital is the latest in a series of projects that do just that,\u201d said Wellstar Health System President and CEO Candice L. Saunders in a statement<\/a> announcing the hospital plans. \u201cThe area is growing so much that even when our new tower at Wellstar Kennestone opens next year, the region will need more hospital beds. A new hospital in Acworth would fill a crucial need for the region\u2019s medical care.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Wellstar said it works to improve access to care for communities across the state with more than $1.4 billion in projects, including building new towers at Wellstar Kennestone and Wellstar Paulding; adding a new oncology center to Wellstar Spalding Medical Center “to help keep cancer care local”; adding primary, pediatric and urgent care and specialty services in the communities Wellstar serves; and partnering with Augusta University Medical College of Georgia Center for Digital Health to provide rural hospitals with access to specialty care.<\/p>\n